Notre-Dame reopens after 5 years: understand the reconstruction work

Five years after a devastating fire, the Note-Dame Cathedral – a religious icon and cultural symbol of France, as well as a meeting point for Parisian tourism – has already set a date to reopen its doors to the public: next Sunday, December 8. The restoration work , which involved two thousand workers and skilled craftsmen, will be celebrated in a reopening ceremony the night before (7), for invited guests only, which will be broadcast globally. Built between 1160 and 1345 in the Gothic style, Notre-Dame Cathedral is visited by 12 million tourists every year. The building has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1991. On April 15, 2019, a devastating fire engulfed Notre-Dame, shocking the global community.

The reconstruction work

Everything was rebuilt for the reopening of Notre-Dame: both the parts damaged by the fire and those that were not affected. Although the project prioritized maintaining the original appearance , the restored Notre-Dame has gained a new space, brighter and cleaner, which offers a new experience to visitors. The exterior of the building was protected and stabilized with a 991 m³ limestone reinforcement that replaced what had been damaged . The walls and statues had their soot removed, smoke and water-damaged paintings were repaired, and the original oak roof structure was rebuilt. The Viollet-le-Duc tower, which was completely consumed by the flames and collapsed from a height of 93 meters, was rebuilt in an identical manner, now covered with wood and lead.

“Ultimately, [the tour] will be a great journey of rediscovery , making people understand the meaning of this cathedral,” explained Olivier Josse, the cathedral’s general secretary.

Next steps

Work on the exterior of the cathedral will continue. In fact, the city is investing approximately 50 million euros to create 1,800 m² of green space in a pedestrian-friendly area. Belgian landscape architect Bas Smets has won an international competition to redesign the cathedral’s grounds with a plan that calls for creating a “microclimate” through vegetation and a water feature. Similar in size to the cathedral’s interior, the courtyard will be redesigned as a “clearing” among the trees – with 160 additional trees planted to provide shade in the summer. What used to be an underground parking garage will be transformed into a covered promenade reminiscent of Paris’s famous 19th-century passages. It will also feature a visitor center that will include a bookstore, restrooms, and a café . Most importantly, it will connect directly to the Seine River and the archaeological crypt , a lesser-known museum that displays ancient Gallo-Roman remains discovered during excavations in the heart of historic Paris. The project – which will begin in autumn 2025, with the first phase expected to be completed in 2027 – aims to improve visitor reception. Information: National Geographic